Chapter 2

“Freya, enough! It’s just a social media post! Why are you always so petty?!

“You made Emma cry! Hurry up and apologize to her!”

My heart suddenly sank.

I clearly hadn’t done anything, yet somehow I was the one who had to apologize.

I let out a cold laugh. “Apologize? For what? What did I do wrong?”

Lucas instantly exploded.

“What did you do wrong? Making Emma upset means you’re going against me!

“I don’t care. Apologize right now! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude to you!”

Then Mom’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Lucas, don’t talk to Freya like that. She’s your sister!”

Then she turned back to me.

“Freya, Lucas is still young. Don’t stoop to his level.

“And we really did just come out for a simple meal today. Don’t overthink it.”

Listening to Mom’s words, a wave of bitterness rose in my chest.

I said coldly, “You don’t need to explain. You’re the real family anyway.”

That completely set Mom off.

Her voice immediately shot up.

“Freya, how can you say something like that?!

“So what if we went out to eat without you? Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?

“If you want food that badly, I’ll transfer you two hundred dollars so you can eat whatever you want!”

A notification immediately popped up showing a two-hundred-dollar transfer.

“There. I already sent the money. Let’s just drop this.”

Then she hung up.

I let out a mocking laugh.

If this was family and this was love, I didn’t want it anymore!

I called my best friend, Nancy Goldman.

“The project you mentioned before, can I still join?”

Nancy immediately replied, “Of course!

“Freya, you finally agreed to join my team!

“When can you come over? I’ll book your flight.”

Without any hesitation, I answered, “Tomorrow. The sooner, the better.”

After hanging up, I felt strangely calm.

Nancy had invited me to join her team countless times before, but I always refused because it was too far from home.

Back then, my dream was to stay close to my family.

Now, I had let it go.

…

By the time the four of them came home, it was late at night.

They seemed to have been drinking, and the smell of alcohol filled the air.

At that moment, I was packing my things.

The second Mom and Dad saw it, their expressions changed.

Mom rushed over and snatched the clothes out of my hands before throwing them onto the floor.

“Freya, what are you doing? Are you planning to run away from home?

“Didn’t I already send you money? Why are you still making a scene?!”

I silently picked the clothes back up and stared at her.

“Making a scene? Who’s the one making a scene here?

“I saw the family group chat. Have you ever treated me like family?”

Mom’s face instantly turned pale.

“Freya, listen to me…”

I sneered, “There’s no need. I don’t care about this kind of family anymore.”

Dad finally spoke from the side, but every word was filled with blame.

“It’s just a group chat. What does that prove? Freya, you’re just too petty.”

I’m petty?

Fine, then!

No matter what happened, they would always make me the villain anyway.

I stopped responding to them and continued packing my things.

Emma suddenly stepped forward in tears.

“Freya, did you see my messages?

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.

“If I hadn’t come to this house, I wouldn’t have caused you so much trouble.”

As she spoke, she grabbed my arm.

“Freya, don’t be angry at me, okay?

“If anyone should leave, it should be me. You’re part of this family.”

I shook her hand off.

“Stop acting in front of me! I’m not buying any of this!”

I hadn’t used much force, but Emma still stumbled backward toward the edge of the table.

Lucas quickly caught her from the side, pulling Emma behind him before shoving me hard.

Caught off guard, I crashed heavily onto the floor.

My knee slammed against the ground with a dull thud, and the pain instantly brought tears to my eyes.

However, there wasn’t the slightest trace of guilt on his face.

Instead, he looked pleased with himself.

“You deserved that for laying your hands on Emma! Let’s see if you dare do it again!”

A trace of hesitation flashed across Mom’s face.

She was just about to help me up when Emma’s sobbing drew her attention away.

“Auntie, maybe I should leave. As long as I’m here, everyone will just be unhappy.”